Drug law: How much should pharma have to disclose?

Thu, 2006-06-01 21:28

That's the question that has people up in arms in Charleston, W. Va., according to an article in the Charleston Gazette. According to the article:

At issue is whether the Legislature intended to require reporting of all marketing expenses by drug companies -- or just direct-to-consumer advertising costs -- when it passed the Pharmaceutical Availability and Affordability Act of 2004.

Last week, the pharmaceutical council voted 5-4 to remove all spending disclosure requirements for drug company sales representatives, heeding the advice of pharmaceutical industry attorneys who said the council‘s authority is essentially limited to consumer advertising.

It goes on to say: "“It‘s clear to me ... that far more is spent on what is called, quote, physician education than there is on direct-to-consumer advertising,' he said, adding, “I don‘t think the public is aware of that level of influence.'”

I'll be doing a roundup of what's going on in various states related to pharma and CME for the next issue of Medical Meetings, so if you know of anything, please drop me a line or leave a comment below. Thanks to Deb for this one!